Abu Dhabi, UAE – 19 November 2019: Nicholas Pooran and the Northern Warriors have tamed the charging Delhi Bulls. In spite of Eoin Morgan providing a Captain’s innings of 56 to steady the Bulls following a top-order collapse, the team’s bowling line up could not restrict or deliver the wicket of Pooran, who romped home to win the match for the Northern Warriors.

The clash between Northern Warriors and Delhi Bulls started in an emphatic fashion with a dramatic first over in which Australian spinner Chris Green found himself on a hat trick on the third ball of the first over following the brilliant dismissals of Kusal Perera and Sherfane Rutherford. Green continued to bamboozle the hapless Delhi Bulls’ batsmen with yet another ripper, this time through the defences of Muhammad Usman, to register impressive figures of 3-6 in only eight balls. The Bulls once again found themselves reliant on the partnership of Eoin Morgan and Angelo Matthews, as they found themselves at 23-3 after three overs.

Boundaries dried up as the Warriors’ impressive spinners suffocated their opponents from runs. The pair however dug deep, with Morgan smashing three magnificent sixes in an over, a much-needed turning point in the innings. Despite Matthews’ fall, Captain Eoin charged on, reaching a tenacious half-century with a glorious six midway through the seventh over, but he departed shortly after, leaving his team 15 runs shy of a hundred. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and England’s David Willey carried Delhi Bulls over the hundred mark, ensuring a strong end to their innings in the face of aggressive warriors’ bowling, giving them a lead of 107 to defend.

As night descended over the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Northern Warriors’ rearranged top batting order looked to provide a blistering start for their team in order to improve their performance in the tournament. West Indian pair Nicholas Pooran and Lendl Simmons duly delivered, devastating the Bulls’ pace attack posting 48 runs in 22 balls before the latter fell, failing to make ground before he was run out by wicket keeper Kusal Perera. Fans watched in delight as Andre Russell brought his trademark maverick batting style to the crease, putting his team in the driving seat with a rapid 22 runs from 7 deliveries before succumbing to a bouncer from Sri Lankan fast pace bowler Dushmantha Chameera.

Nicholas Pooran watched as Sam Billings lost his wicket for a cheap seven and Captain Darren Sammy was dismissed for a duck, but Pooran continued to anchor the innings through a disciplined batting performance that inched his team closer to victory.  The opener clinched victory for his team and a half-century for himself with an awesome display of power hitting that shot the final ball over the bowler’s head for six – handing the Northern Warriors  a six wicket victory.

Following his deserving Man of the Match performance for his 56 off 25* Nicholas Pooran, commented in the post match press conference: “We had a very aggressive game plan with both bat and ball, and that is something that gave me the freedom to go out there and play some nice shots today. I knew that if I was to stay to the end of the innings then we would win the game comfortably, so all in all it was a perfect run chase”

Despite his team’s loss Morgan seemed intent on focusing on the positives of the format of T10 commenting: “I love this format. It certainly has a massive x-factor, and is extremely popular with the fans as well as the players, because it pushes us to take greater risk and adapt to a faster game.”

Team Abu Dhabi will work to combat the work of the Bangla Tigers in the final match of the night at Zayed Cricket Stadium.

About Abu Dhabi T10

Abu Dhabi T10 is a professional ten-over format cricket league launched by T10 Sports Management and licensed by the Emirates Cricket Board and approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of international cricket. It is the first ever internationally approved ten-over format league.

Matches have 10-over-a-side format and duration of 45 minutes a side, totalling 90 minutes of play. The tournament is played over ten days, with a round robin followed by semi-finals and the final. In August 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially sanctioned the league.

About Abu Dhabi Cricket

Abu Dhabi Cricket (ADC) is supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council and operates under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan.

ADC is ushering in an exciting new era of cricket in Abu Dhabi with significant investment in facilities and operational upgrades. In addition to the iconic Zayed Cricket Stadium the venue now boasts the following impressive facilities: 2 x floodlit nursery cricket ovals, international standard cricket nets facility, 4 x floodlit netball courts, 5-a-side “Soccer City”, 4 x multi-purpose floodlit AstroTurf pitches and 5 x FIFA approved grass, floodlit football pitches.

ADC was founded on 20th November 1996, with the impressive Zayed Cricket Stadium, considered among the world’s best, being completed in 2005. The Stadium’s inaugural international match was staged between India and Pakistan in April 2006 and was attended by 20,000 enthusiastic fans.

Zayed Cricket Stadium has hosted numerous domestic and international matches since that day. The electric atmosphere of the Pakistan vs. India match was rivalled when the Indian Premier League arrived in 2014.

2018 saw the stadium’s biggest season to date with over 75,000 fans flooding the stands throughout the 2018 ACC Asia Cup, Pakistan vs. Australia series, Pakistan vs. New Zealand series and of course the inaugural Abu Dhabi T20 – during which six of the world’s biggest T20 franchises descended upon the UAE capital to vie for championship honours.

Though cricket is at the core of operations, ADC also prides itself on the world-class facilities available, catering to sportsmen and women of all ages and abilities from elite international players to community sports enthusiasts.

In addition to the international cricket season that was, ADC has also welcomed and hosted the likes of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) England Lions for their 2018 tour of the UAE, New Zealand’s All Black 7s and Black Fern 7s rugby teams ahead of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s (of which both teams emerged champions) and Japan, Oman, Syria, China, Yemen, Iran, Thailand, India and South Korea’s football training camps ahead of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The facility has also been used by several other international associations as a winter training destination, most notably many professional English County teams who return year after year for their pre-season camps.

The recent investments to develop the facility have truly ensured that ADC is known for more than cricket. Indeed, Abu Dhabi Cricket has become the home for a range of coaching academies, clubs, groups and schools for football, touch rugby, netball, basketball, squash and much more.

About Abu Dhabi Sports Council

Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) was established in 2006 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

ADSC is aligned with the emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. The Council promotes an effective, emirate-wide sports calendar that stimulates the desire to participate in quality sports among all Abu Dhabi residents and helps the talented and motivated reach their sporting potential.

The Council also hosts and supports the staging of international world-class sporting events. These include: the annual Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA; the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; the ITU World Triathlon Series; the Gary Player Invitational; the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour, the Red Bull Air Race; the Mubadala World Tennis Championship; the 2017 and 2018 FIFA Club World Cups UAE; the 2019 AFC Asian Cup UAE and the UCI WorldTour event, The UAE Tour.

We at ADSC firmly believe that sporting events deliver a host of benefits for the emirate and its residents. These span improved health and wellness, the building of community spirit, the discovering of local talent and the delivery of international exposure of the emirate as a world-class sporting events hub.

Whether it is land, sea or air, we have sport covered.

 For press enquiries please contact:

Matt Wickens
Four Communications
adcc@fourcommunications.com
+971 52 893 2016